This application is a continuation-in-part of an application entitled "Animal Proof Storage Container", Ser. No. 535,655, filed Sept. 26, 1983 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,796.
This invention relates generally to protecting the contents of a storage container such as a garbage container from relatively large wild or domestic animals. The type of storage container generally contemplated here is that of what is commonly known as a garbage can and is approximately 2 to 21/2 feet in diameter and approximately 21/2 to 3 feet in height. The storage capacity is approximately 25-35 gallons for a conventional garbage can.
It is known that animals, more commonly wild animals, such as raccoons, bears, coyotes, and the like in search of food, are ingenious and cunning at gaining access to storage containers that hold edibles. One common case in point is the raccoon of suburban communities throughout the United States that are adept at removing the lids of garbage containers at night and pulling out and strewing around the contents of the container. In the morning, the people living in the house find the garbage that was neatly packed away the night before thrown about the area of the container. These occurrences are repeated by other animals, such as bears and coyotes, that tend to enter more remote human habitational areas in certain parts of the country at night in search of food.
Yet there seems to be no available system of preventing these animals from entering the containers, except for systems that most people would not want to bother with. In general, people simply want to place the family garbage in a container with traditional lids, rather than resort to a complex prevention system. It is to be noted that garbage containers especially are usually set out for pick up and then are brought back to a garbage storage site subsequent to pick up, a process that calls for garbage containers not burdened with a complex locking system.
Some of the systems presently employed for preventing animals from getting into garbage containers involve the use of tie down straps and hooks or springs. The device employing springs requires their providing tension when in use so as to tightly keep the cover or lid on the container. As a result thereof, the springs, when in use, can easily hurt people as sometimes they can be inadvertently disconnected and could fly off or snap and easily whip lash around and cause injury to either the homeowner or a sanitation man. In fact, most sanitation men do not like such tie down devices because they physically maintain the lid attached to the container. In so doing, the lid is an obstruction and makes it difficult for the pail to be emptied.
Moreover, these tie down devices and other spring gadgets are expensive and must be frequently replaced, as they are easily broken, particularly by the sanitation men who usually handle the covers and lids in a rough manner, and prefer not to have the lid or cover physically restrained in place to the container itself. With the storage container of the present invention, the sanitation men would have no difficulty in emptying the container as the lid is completely removed and is not restrained and held against the container when the lid is unthreaded.
Prior application Ser. No. 535,655 provided a viable animal proof storage container. One improvement to that invention relates to the adaptability of the container to be stacked during shipment and storage. The outwardly extending flange prevented such stacking. Also, the wall of the container was not tapered. Also, as a general matter, handles for picking up the container were not set forth.
Easily operated systems for preventing animals from entering storage container are not generally available for containers other than garbage containers. Often food at a campsite, for example, cannot be left in a simple container with a lid, for a large animal can easily remove the lid and rummage through the container.
Patents applied against application Ser. No. 535,655 are as follows:
(1) "Sanitary Receptacle", U.S. Pat. No. 1,037,625, issued to L. Hofer, Sept. 3, 1912; PA0 (2) "Liquefier Screw Cover", U.S. Pat. No. 1,961,298 issued to T. F. Lundy, June 5, 1934; and PA0 (3) "Paint Can", U.S. Pat. No. 76,229 issued to D. Miller, Mar. 31, 1868.
Other patents cited by the Examiner during the prosecution of the prior application are as follows:
______________________________________ Inventor Patent Issue Date ______________________________________ Wilcox U.S. 674,530 May 21, 1901 Lucas U.S. 1,286,368 Dec. 3, 1918 Heil U.S. 1,683,823 Sept. 11, 1928 Zinkel European 19,832 Dec. 10, 1980 Moore Great Britain 1,500,501 Feb. 10, 1978 ______________________________________
A number of other patents have been issued by the U.S. Patent Office and foreign patent offices that relate generally to refuse containers having handles attached or having elongated members acting between the face of the closure and opposed abutments of the walls of the container.
Such art includes U.S. Pat. No. 550,183 issued Nov. 19, 1895 to J. Leembruggen that discloses a receptacle for food having a pair of slanted outwardly curved grooves 5,5* formed in the circular wall of the receptacle. Grooves 5,5* are adapted to receive the ends of a hold down device comprising a spring 6, the middle portion of which is bent to a concave form and is arranged to press upon the top of cover 3 and to force the rim 4 thereof toward the shoulder 2. The spring lock is not particularly advantageous as a discouragement to wild animals, who would most likely worry away the spring from the grooves.
Another patent is U.S. Pat. No. 2,279,991 issued Apr. 14, 1942 to J. K. Hotchkiss that discloses a jar closure having slots formed by strands 12 into which are snugly received the lugs 8 of the jar A upon a requisite turning movement of the member R. This invention again, if applied to a garbage container, would unlikely to prove an obstacle for very long against the patient efforts of animals to enter the container.
Still another invention is U.S. Pat. No. 552,948 issued Jan. 14, 1896 to M. Witt that discloses a vessel and cover for removal of refuse. A centerplate i of the cover is pressed downardly by screw 1, with the centerplate in turn is pressed upon the receptacle around a tightening-ring that bears upon a bead b around the periphery of the receptacle. The tightening-ring in turn is held between a pair of cover places h and g, with centerplate bearing upon plate h. The described invention is comparatively elaborate and although effective for providing a seal around the mating circumference of the cover and receptacle, it is over-elaborate as far as providing a barrier to wild animals. It may also be noted that upper plate h of the cover is bulged and resiliently yields upon tightening of the top screw. Here a metal material is required with several parts with the resulting weight factor, not to mention the cost. Lightweight plastic also is an unlikely material for this invention.
Other patents of interest in this case are as follows:
______________________________________ Inventor U.S. Pat. No. Issue Date ______________________________________ Gluckman 926,864 July 6, 1909 Nylund 1,129,222 February 23, 1915 Porter 1,728,945 September 24, 1928 Hight 1,802,551 April 28, 1931 Loeber 1,856,877 May 3, 1932 Wenger 1,892,743 January 3, 1933 Curtis 2,111,359 March 15, 1938 Urech 2,123,126 July 5, 1938 Tiffany 2,238,379 April 15, 1941 Biddlecombe 2,632,580 March 24, 1953 Worth 2,717,167 September 6, 1955 Freser 2,756,084 July 24, 1956 Zobel 4,351,449 September 28, 1982 McQuiston et al. 4,384,656 May 24, 1982 ______________________________________